Higher Education: Scholarships

Sam Gyimah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much will be spent on (a) bursaries, (b) fee waivers, (c) discounted student accommodation, (d) free foundation years and (e) other measures under the National Scholarship Programme in 2012-13.

David Willetts: The National Scholarship Programme (NSP) is designed to help people of all ages whose family income is no greater than £25,000 per annum. Higher education institutions set their own criteria, based on their own priorities, for determining entitlement to an award from among this broad group of people.
	Institutions will offer a range of support from a menu which includes tuition fee waivers or discounts, subsidised accommodation and other institutional support, and a cash bursary of up to £1,000. The minimum level for an award is set at £3,000 for each eligible full-time student. Part-time students studying to a minimum intensity of 25% receive a pro-rata award. Universities and colleges can use their match funding to either increase the number of awards available, or the value of an award.
	Higher education institutions and further education colleges with access agreements provided the Office for Fair Access (OFA) with estimates of how much they expect to spend in each of these areas under the NSP. The breakdown was published by the OFA in December 2011 and is given in the following table.
	No data is available yet for institutions without access agreements who have taken up the option of participating in the programme.
	
		
			 Estimated expenditure under National Scholarship Programme in 2012-13 
			  £ million 
			 Fee waivers 52.9 
			 Subsidised accommodation 19.6 
			 Bursaries and scholarships 17.7 
			 Free foundation years 1.0 
			 NSP choice/institutional funds not yet allocated(1) 7.7 
			 Total 99.0 
			 (1) Some institutions are offering a choice of financial support to students under the National Scholarship Programme. In addition, a small number are still in the process of finalising their financial support arrangements under the NSP.